Neighbourhood renewal

Neighbourhood renewal is about strengthening and building strong communities. The 2003 green paper, Every Child Matters (since reinforced by the Children Act 2004 and Every Child Matters: Change for Children), stressed that even the most deprived communities are full of strengths, and looked at the support that agencies offer to individuals to see if it can be better co-ordinated and made accessible in new ways in the community. The key, however, is to engage residents within the community to determine what their priorities are and how they can contribute to, say, the reduction of teenage pregnancy or the promotion of healthy eating. A current proposal is that services could be located around schools, but community centres, healthy living centres, and youth clubs could also be used.

Families are often affected by living in poverty, problems associated with separated parents and the lack of traditional support, and the funding of support for children with disabilities. Social workers need to build up trust with service users over a long period of time to ensure they can engage the community. A recent example within a community in Portsmouth saw a community group offering to set up a babysitting circle to combat the problem of children being left alone in the evenings. The residents and social worker immediately thought of what they could do rather than assume the local authority would help. 

Social workers may also be involved in providing day centres or drop-in services at medical surgeries. As one of the main responsibilities for a social worker is to protect vulnerable people, it is important to be based within easy access of support and advice from managers, particularly where highly complex cases are involved. The job of a social worker is one of the most exciting that anybody can have. Even on a bad day, social workers will have the satisfaction of knowing that they have been trying to do something worthwhile for another human being. When you arrive at work in the morning, you can't predict what will happen. Some people love that kind of job; others need more structure. That said, there are downsides. Resources are generally poor, the responsibilities are great and the appreciation and status given to social workers by the public is low compared with other countries.

Shoptalk

There is a range of specialisms within social care and all of them have had government guidance or legislation relating to them, including Valuing people with learning difficulties, National service framework for older people, the green paper Every Child Matters and the Climbié report. 

Skills required

Strong intellectual skills.

• The strength of personality to work in adverse conditions.
• The ability to make relationships with other people.
• An insight into your own strengths and weaknesses.
• Teamworking.
• Good listening skills.
• Understanding that the work a social worker does has to fit into the context of the individual's health, housing, and emotional or physical needs.

Starting out

Ideally, new starters are given an opportunity to learn their skills in an unpressurised environment. The reality is that the shortage of qualified staff is such that they may be asked to carry more responsibility than they should. In job seeking you should focus on what managerial support and training you will get to help you develop. Social workers can increasingly pick and choose the jobs they want. 

In brief

• Best bits
  When you get home in the evening, you can rest assured that - despite the pressures - you have been trying to achieve something worthwhile. That is what inspires the majority of the profession.
• Worst bits
  The constant pressure of lack of resources.